TOPID Revised
by Isran DarkStrider
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura have never been the best of friends, but after an arguement with Uchiha Sasuke they decide to work together to become the best shinobi in Konoha. NarutoTenTen SakuraShikamaru
1. Prolouge

**TOPID Ch.1 Revised Edition!**

Authors Note: Alright guys, here it is! I hope you all enjoy this. Cause I'm changing multiple things about the story, including parts of the plot!

So, if you liked the other TOPID, you should like this one.

Just another note, if I can time this right, I can get the revised chapters up before the end of January.

Then, I can start with the new chapters! Aren't I confident in me…?

Now, on to the story!

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…Masashi Kishimoto does, but that's not important. Or is it?

* * *

Normal Speech

_Thoughts/Jutsu_

**Kyuubi/Inner Sakura**

* * *

Konoha lay quite on a breezy Thursday morning. The sun was shining happily down on the hidden village; most people were off doing what they normally did. Shinobi dropped by Hokage tower to pick up assignments, towns people went about as normal.

One boy was doing what most people would have considered abnormal for him. Uzumaki Naruto was at the place most people never went in their free-time. The library! He stared at it with some strange resignation. This was one place he had never been welcomed before, and now he was old enough, and eligible to enter!

The Shinobi Library of Konoha contained all sorts of Jutsu scrolls, histories on shinobi from the village, Bingo Books, everything most shinobi looked for. However, Naruto had never been allowed in here, technically, because he wasn't a Genin, and unofficially, because the librarian hated him for being a Jinchuuriki.

So, he'd waited patiently for the day that he became a Genin so he could enter the Great Library. Now it was here! The chance he had been waiting for!

The short blue eyed boy stepped up to the doors and slowly pushed it open. As he did, he avoided making quantities of sound; as to avoid the evil librarian and her hatred of him.

He watched in wonder as the doors closed behind him. He turned to face the library and was surprised.

His vision of the building had been dark, dreary; dungeon-like. Someplace he didn't want to go. This building however; was well lit, airy, and even pleasantly comfortable.

Naruto walked over to the large area of shelves and peaked at the first scroll he came upon. '_Beginners Techniques! A Raw Genin's Best Friend!_' Naruto grinned and picked it up; unfurling it to see what was inside.

The first technique wasn't even a jutsu. It was called a 'Chakra-Control Exercise' and from what Naruto could decipher; was supposed to help with your chakra. He saw a few sentences that described 'tree-climbing' and 'water-walking' but he ignored those to go further.

The first jutsu on the list was a basic Katon technique that made him raise an eyebrow. It mostly described how he would channel the proper amounts of chakra into his hand and create a fireball.

'_Ha! Let's see Sasuke do this!_' He chuckled to himself as he read further in. He found a few other basic techniques that he decided to try and master. But most of it was just nonsense. Naruto put the scroll under his arm before looking through the shelf and pulling off at least ten more.

He grinned to himself as he ran up to the front of the library. The old lady wasn't even there! A young woman sat there who Naruto supposed might be a librarian. But she had her head buried in a book of her own.

She was pretty with light brown hair and large blue eyes. He noticed that she was wearing a rather large sweater with a short skirt on to cover her legs. She looked up at him slightly when he set his scrolls on the desk, but kept her focus on the book.

"You want to check those out, right?" She asked, not even looking as she continued to read.

Naruto blinked a few times before nodding. "Uh…yeah…"

The girl nodded before standing up and walking over to a cabinet; not even lifting her eyes from the book. "Your name?" She asked, opening the cabinet up and still staring at the book.

Naruto was confused by this girl as he slowly said his name. "Uzumaki Naruto?"

The girl nodded to herself before pulling a card out, reading 'Uzumaki Naruto, Age Twelve, Genin'. She showed it to him before Naruto nodded. "Yep…that's me." The girl nodded again before setting it down near her.

She pulled the scrolls over, quickly wrapped them together with cord, and handed a bag to Naruto; scrolls and all. "Those are due back in three weeks. Otherwise, there is a late fee." She sat back down and continued to read, not even looking to see if Naruto had left or not.

Naruto saw a plaque near his bag that showed a name. 'Satō Miyuki, Head Librarian'. He took his bag and thought about it for a second. "Thanks Miyuki-chan…" He started walking away and didn't even see the girl look at him with curiosity.

When he was gone, the girl grinned to herself. "So that was Iruka's favorite student…" She shook her head, still smiling. '_At least he was interesting._' She thought to herself as she went back to her book.

* * *

Naruto sat in his apartment, scroll open on the table; in his pajamas. He had completely absorbed the information on the scroll. For some reason, it was easier to remember all of this stuff. Even when he tried to study in the Academy, everything seemed to slip by him. Even _if_ he stayed up all night to study.

But now, it was strangely easy to read the scrolls and remember things. He'd gotten through all eleven of the scrolls, and remembered each and everything they said. He'd even read off one of the scrolls perfectly. This completely confused him. Since when could he do this?

He shook his head and put the other scroll down. What was the point of dealing with them now? It was eleven o'clock at night! He should be asleep already! Especially since he had training to do in the morning. Kakashi-sensei hadn't said anything about missions this week.

He went over and looked at his few plants he kept in the house. Two medium sized Bode trees that he liked. One of them was looking sickly. He sighed. '_I need to go find someone tomorrow who can help me with my plants_.' He shook his head and sat down.

He went into his bedroom and fell onto his unmade bed. His mind exhausted by all of the reading. He smiled to himself. All of the jutsu he could practice now.

_He was floating through the air staring at a scene before him. He tried to move as he watched what happened, but he was unable to._

_He watched as Kakashi-sensei fought another man wielding a giant cleaver, trying to strike him as they leapt over a lake. __He, Sasuke, and Sakura were watching from a distance, trying to follow the battle that was unfolding before them. _

_Naruto watched as Sasuke charged at him, attacking him with a kunai. Naruto deflected it, and struck out against Sasuke; striking him in the face. _

_Naruto watched again as he ran up a tree, not even using his hands, he reached the top and stood triumphant._

Naruto jumped up with a start as sunlight struck him. Everything had been so real. What was that? He shook his head and looked out the window. None of that had even happened. He jumped up and ran over to get in the shower.

The warm water felt so good on him as he scrubbed off a day's worth of dirt. He looked to see if he had any shampoo left and was surprised that he did. The other day, he'd dumped about half a bottle down the stupid drain. It was by accident of course, holding a bottle of shampoo and tripping over a bar of soap.

He stepped out of the shower a few minutes later and tied a towel around his waist. He ran into his room and saw that all of his jumpsuits were wet. '_Crap! I don't have anything to wear now!_' He started cursing silently to himself before he reached down and found a pair of pants he could wear.

When he was done getting dressed, his hair was dry and hanging down over his face instead of covering his headband like it normally did. He looked at himself in the mirror and was shocked.

He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of black shorts; he saw that his headband was tied around his arm instead of his forehead. '_How did that happen?_' He wondered. He shook his head and stepped out his room.

After a quick breakfast of four or five cups of instant ramen and looked at the scrolls he'd dropped off here. '_Should I return them to the Library?_' He shook his head. '_She'd probably think I hadn't read them at all…_'

Naruto looked at his plants and decided to make a day to have someone look at them. First, he had to figure out who was good at gardening. '_I could ask Sakura-chan, but she'd probably blow me off. Wait,_' He thought to himself. '_I could ask that Ino-chick that Sakura hung around with…_´He grinned to himself at his brilliant idea.

So, Naruto leapt out the window and headed to a training field near his house. Luckily for him, it was deep in the cover of trees, so no one would see him. He stepped into the middle of the field and smiled to himself. Now he could practice by himself. At least no one knew he was here.

He closed his eyes and tried to remember the Fire jutsu he'd first read about.

Then, he could suddenly see that section of the scroll before him.

'_Katon__: Faitama No Jutsu_

_Class: C-Rank, Offensive, Short Range_

_Description: Conjures a ball of flames into the user's hands, prompts focusing of amount of chakra. Hand sign(s): Simply use the 'tora' seal to focus the chakra. Remember to start with a larger amount of chakra then you think you'll need.' _

Naruto blinked as he opened his eyes. He could have sworn that was exactly what the scroll said. He shook his head, dismissing the idea. It didn't make sense. How could he have remembered exactly what the scroll had said?

Naruto made his favorite sign. "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Two clones of him appeared.

"Alright guys! We're going to practice Faitama and see if we can get it…" The two Bunshin nodded at him.

"Right boss!" Naruto grinned and quickly formed the tora seal.

As he gathered chakra he noticed something, his energy seemed…different then it had been a few days earlier. It felt easier to manipulate. It was smoother, less chaotic. He opened his eyes and extended one of his hands!

"_FAITAMA NO JUTSU!_" A huge orb of flames burst into life as he extended his hand. He blinked in surprise as both of his clones held smaller orbs in one hand each. He grinned to himself as he tossed the orb of flames into a tree a few meters away.

He grimaced as the side of the tree the fire hit was charcoal. '_Okay, so maybe I pushed a little too much chakra into that jutsu…_' He thought as he went over to examine the tree. He shook his head and headed back to his clones.

"Let's get to work with some of the other stuff we learned…" The clone nodded and the two set to work.

A week later, Naruto arrived at the spot where Kakashi had told them to meet. His body was still exhausted from the hours of training. His schedule only allowed him time to relax when he was eating or sleeping. Otherwise; he studied scrolls or practiced.

The spot was a bridge sitting over a quiet stream that Naruto had found quite soothing to sit at and read. Most of the time though, Kakashi or Sasuke would walk past it and Naruto would hide. Otherwise, he liked this spot.

He sat down on a red bench and saw that Sakura was walking from the other side of the bridge towards him. "Good morning Sakura-chan!" He waved at her and returned to reading.

Sakura raised an eyebrow as she looked her new teammate over. He wasn't wearing his usual ensemble of orange, instead opting for a white t-shirt, black shorts, and an open orange vest. What confused her even more was that his headband was on his arm instead of his forehead.

"Hi…Naruto. How have you been?" She was only going to talk to him until Sasuke got here and then she would completely ignore him. The strange thing was, Naruto was _reading_.

In all of their years at the Academy, she had never seen Naruto open a book; unless it was about a technique that they were going to learn. Which meant Naruto would start reading, get confused, and whine to Iruka-sensei.

Naruto waved his hand, continuing to read. "Pretty good. I've been training a lot; I hope Kakashi-sensei gets us a good mission. I'm ready to show everyone how good a ninja I am!"

Sakura nodded. "That's cool…" Then she decided to ask about the scroll.

"What's the scroll about?" Naruto shrugged.

"A couple of techniques that I've wanted to learn. They have a lot of different scrolls at the Shinobi Library that I've been reading. It's pretty cool really…" He trailed off and continued to read.

Sakura decided that now was the time to ask the question that had been eating her up all morning. "Do you know when Sasuke-kun is getting here?" Naruto shrugged and continued to read.

Sakura was tempted to punch the baka for ignoring her like that. But that wouldn't make the information pop into Narutos brain any time soon. So, she was content with waiting there for Sasuke-kun to show up.

A few minutes later, Sakura's wish was granted. Sasuke came walking up to the bridge and leaned on the side opposite them. "Good morning Sasuke-kun!" She greeted, grinning as best she could.

"Hn…" Was the only response she got. So, she decided to make some small talk.

"What have you been doing during the week off?" She asked, keeping her voice curious and chipper.

Sasuke shrugged in response and returned to stare off into space. Sakura sighed and looked at the ground. So, Sasuke-kun was being a little difficult. That had never stopped her before.

Before she could say anything, Naruto stood up and set his scroll down on the bench. "Sasuke…you wanna spar before Kakashi-sensei gets here?" Sasuke turned and raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I wanna fight you dead-last?" Naruto crossed his arms and chuckled.

"Because I've been practicing; and Kakashi-sensei isn't going to get here for a while." Sasuke smirked and shrugged.

"I guess if you really want to get beaten that badly…" Naruto grinned and the two stepped off the bridge.

They stood in a meadow an equal distance from each other before they slid into their stances. Sasuke went into his usual Uchiha Taijutsu stance while Naruto slid into something completely different. He had both of his feet evenly spaced apart while one arm was behind his back, and the other extended in front of him.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Did you learn some new tricks while I was gone dead-last?" Naruto grinned and charged forward surprisingly quickly. Sasuke blocked a punch, then kick, and finally spun around to block a strike to his back.

"Interesting style…" Naruto grinned and continued; spinning around to kick Sasuke in the face. Sasuke grunted as he was hit and fell back. The Uchiha was slightly impressed by Naruto. He was faster and seemingly hit harder with his attacks.

This was good, now Sasuke wouldn't be as bored when they sparred. He stopped pondering this when Naruto swept his legs out from under him. "Come on Basterd! Pay attention!" Sasuke growled and started to push forward. As he did, Naruto grinned as he jumped back.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_" Two other Naruto's popped into existence and charged for Sasuke. Sasuke twirled around and kicked each one in the face, sending them flying back. He smirked to himself until Naruto formed a single hand-sign.

"_Faitama no Jutsu!_" An orb of flames burst into life in Naruto's left hand as he charged forward. Sasuke blinked at this before moving and forming his own hand-signs.

"_Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!_" A swarm of fire-birds flew from his mouth and descended upon Naruto.

Naruto tossed the fireball at one and flipped back to avoid the others. The one that collided with the fireball blew up and sent the others tumbling every which-way.

Sasuke was confused by Naruto's technique as he charged forward and began using Taijutsu against the other boy. '_Since when did dead-last get a Katon technique? Faitama takes more control then that loser has!_' They stopped the Taijutsu as each one began flipping through hand signs.

Sasuke finished first. "_Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!_" The same birds flew from his mouth towards Naruto.

Naruto finished a sign and grinned as he held out his hands. "_Futon: Daitoppa!_" He extended his hands and Sasuke closed his eyes as a huge gale of wind blew the small fire-birds away. Sasuke growled and took a kunai from his pouch, charging at Naruto full speed.

Naruto drew a kunai and charged as well, crashing his own kunai with Sasuke's. The two began pushing back and forth in a contest of strength. Naruto finally gained the upper hand, but instead of doing what any normal shinobi would do. He punched Sasuke in the face, sending the Uchiha tumbling back.

Sasuke pulled himself up and growled. There was a bruise across his cheek where Naruto had hit him. "That's it dead-last! I'm ending this right now!" He flipped through a few hand signs and took in a deep breath.

"_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!_" He blew from his mouth and sent a huge fireball at Naruto.

Naruto jumped out of the way as the fireball hit where he'd been. "Jeez Basterd! Take it easy! This is just a sparring match!" Sasuke snarled as he charged forward and struck out, punching Naruto in the face.

The two froze when they heard a cough coming from behind them. They turned to see Hatake Kakashi staring at them with his book wide open. "Well, while that was an interesting match. It's time to get your mission assignments! Today," He held out a sheet of paper. "We'll be gardening for an elderly shinobi and his wife. So, let's get going…"

He looked up and saw that the three Genin were glaring at him with what might have been killer intent. "What?"

* * *

_Well, wasn't that an interesting prologue? I hope you all enjoyed it. I can't believe I came this far this quickly. Good for me!_

_I hope that everyone reviews please! _

_Thanks all! _

_Isran Darkstrider_


	2. A Journey Through Life

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TOPID Revised

A/N: Welcome one and all to another chapter of TOPID! Sorry that it's taken so long, but I hope all of you will enjoy this. I've worked hard on it and I just wanted to let you know that this will officially be the longest chapter I've ever put on .

This will be slightly like the original TOPID's first chapter, but there will be some substantial differences. I hope anyone who has read the original will take note; there will be a slight change in what I had originally done to Naruto.

With that, welcome to the second chapter of TOPID.

* * *

Normal Speech

_Thoughts/Jutsu_

_**Demons/Inner Sakura**_

* * *

Haruno Sakura, Genin of Konoha, the top Kunoichi in her class, studious, and clever in all areas of the shinobi style. Her looks forced her to stand out from the rest with her vivid pink hair and her bright green eyes. Her forehead had drawn negative attention when she was younger, but no longer. After Ino gave her a ribbon to keep her up when they were starting their friendship but since she got her hitae-ate, the ribbon remained in her house. She kept it in a small box in her room by her bed, simply to remind her about the joys and turmoil's of friendship.

So today, when Team Seven had to help at an elderly woman with her grocery shopping, she wasn't surprised that her mind was allowed to wander as she helped carry bags back to the woman's apartment. Naruto and Sasuke had been competing over who could carry the most bags, Kakashi-sensei had been reading that filthy orange piece of trash, and the old woman had been walking next to her, giving them directions on how to get to her house.

Naruto had changed a great deal in the past week. Every morning, he would arrive at the meeting place and read until Sasuke got there, then they would spar until Kakashi-sensei arrived. To someone on the outside, Naruto would appear to be an extremely hard working Genin who wanted to get stronger, more quickly. Sakura knew better though; at least she thought she did.

Naruto had barely ever picked up a book at the Academy and here he was reading complicated shinobi literature like it was nothing. He had become far more quite and observant in these past days then she had ever seen him before. His fighting style still held the weird improvisation that it had in the Academy, but it had strength and discipline too.

Sakura had to admit that even she was impressed with the progress Naruto was making. Sasuke-kun had had even begun working even harder to compete with Naruto's progress. Every time they sparred, Sasuke seemed to try harder than he should have for simply wanting to beat Naruto. Even though, from what she could see, Naruto was getting closer and closer to beating the prodigal Uchiha.

Kakashi-sensei hadn't been acting like it, but Sakura knew that he'd been arriving early and watching the pair spar. Though, Sakura had no idea why he was. It wasn't like they were going to hurt each-other. Kakashi-sensei seemed to be much more active when he trained the team. He was much more animated than he normally was at training sessions.

Sakura had to admit that she was very curious about Naruto's progress; he almost seemed to be breezing easily through the scrolls that he read. This puzzled her even more as he was almost illiterate when they were classmates. Now though, Sakura didn't doubt that the blond boy could probably read on her level, seemingly through sheer force of will.

She continued to contemplate the enigma that was Naruto until the quintet finally arrived at the old woman's house. Naruto and Sasuke were waiting impatiently as the woman dug out her keys.

"Now where did I put those blasted keys?" The woman asked as she began digging through her purse. Sakura tried to hide a giggle at the looks Naruto and Sasuke had on their faces as the elderly woman continued to go through her bag.

"I swear I put them in here somewhere…" Sakura was practically red in the face trying not to laugh at Naruto and Sasuke attempting to hold up the twenty bags each. The strain was beginning to show on their faces and it was becoming more and more comical by the second.

Sakura chuckled when the woman remembered that she'd left her keys under the doormat. Naruto and Sasuke were glaring at her coldly and Sakura thought she saw Naruto aiming a can at the old ladies back. She shook her head and went inside with the rest of them to unload the groceries.

The look of relief on the other two Genins faces was too much for Sakura. She ran into the old woman's pantry and laughed while she put some of the cans away. Sakura did have to wonder why one person needed so many cans of green beans. It was kind of strange.

Sakura watched as Kakashi and the old woman talked for a moment and the woman gave a small envelope to Kakashi, which Sakura assumed was their pay. The four thanked the woman and left her house.

When they were out of earshot Naruto yawned widely and stretched. "That wasn't the best mission we've ever been on…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the blondes comment. "At least we don't have to capture that stupid cat for the Fire Daimyos wife."

Naruto nodded at that. "Yeah! That has to be the most useless mission that's ever been invented."

Kakashi shook his head from the back and nodded at the three. "I'm going to go report to Hokage-sama. You three have the rest of the afternoon off. Meet at the same spot tomorrow." He waved as he vanished in a blast of smoke.

Sakura instantly turned to Sasuke. "So Sasuke-kun! Do you want to go have lunch with me?"

Sasuke scoffed and started walking away. "I think I'll pass…" He started walking away and Sakura sighed as he turned down a side-street.

Naruto stayed quiet through all of this and Sakura saw him walking away. "See you tomorrow Sakura-chan!" Sakura froze where she was. Naruto hadn't tried asking her out on a date. That was…shocking to say the least.

Sakura sighed to herself and shook her head. There wasn't anyone really to eat lunch with. Well, there was Naruto. '_Though, that wouldn't be my best choice ever…_' She thought as the blond began going further and further away. Her Inner voice spoke up as she pondered this. '_**CHA! WE HAVE TO EAT WITH SOMEONE, DON'T WE?!**_' Sakura bobbed her head in defeat. Inner Sakura was right.

"Hey Naruto!" Naruto turned his head. "Wait up!" Sakura caught up with him and slowed her pace. She couldn't be looking like a complete idiot, now could she?

"What's up Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as she stood a few feet away.

"I was wondering if maybe…we could go somewhere to eat." Sakura stated as she looked away. "It's not like I have a choice." She muttered darkly to herself as she continued to stare off in another direction.

"Uh, sure Sakura-chan." Naruto mumbled as they kept walking. They spent a few moments in an awkward silence that made the walk seem much slower than it should have been.

"So, where do you want to go?" Naruto asked as they reached a crossroad between Main St. and part of the Residential area.

"Um…" Sakura murmured as she looked at the two streets. "Let's go to this little place that sells oden." Sakura was trying to avoid interrogating Naruto until they started eating, that way it would seem a little more natural in conversation.

"Just so you know Naruto, this isn't a date." Sakura stated as she tried to remember which way they were supposed to turn.

"Yeah Sakura-chan, I get it." Naruto muttered as he continued to space off. He was impatient almost. Like he was waiting to do something and she was holding him back.

They took a quick turn and headed down the main street, disregarding people they walked past. Sakura noticed that there were quite a few villagers who would glare at Naruto when they thought he wasn't looking; or they'd do it right to him. She knew that most of the village thought he was a lot of trouble, but they way they were looking at him made it seem like a great deal more.

'_What could he have done to make people look at him that way?_' She thought as they arrived at the small oden stand. It was a quaint little building with only three walls and the open one covered by a drape of beads. It was a kind of shady place, but the food was good and it was cheap. The owner stared at them as they walked in. He was a retired Jonin who had fought in the Great Shinobi War against Iwagakure when the Yondaime Hokage was still a Jonin. He had a scar across his face that looked like an X, covering up part of his cheeks and taking a line of hair away. He'd supposedly almost lost his head from a Shinobi's attack and had barely made it.

He scoffed as Naruto and Sakura sat down but didn't say anything as he came up to the counter stools they'd taken. "What can I get you?"

Sakura noticed that he seemed to be avoiding looking at Naruto. She was questioning this. Why would this old man avoid looking at the blonde Genin? Sakura started pondering this and decided against it. It would take too long for her to figure it out and it would probably only make her more confused than she had been.

Naruto looked over the wall menu and pondered his order. "I think I'll have suji, boiled eggs, konyaku, carrot, shitake, and tsukune." He nodded to himself. "Can I have soy sauce to dip it in too?" The owner nodded and turned to Sakura.

(Suji: Beef tendons, Shitake: Mushrooms, Konyaku: Thin-Sliced Yams, Tsukune: Fish balls)

"I'll have just your standard and miso to dip it in." Sakura told him as he jotted it down on a pad of paper. The owner went to the back counter and started preparing the meal. Sakura glanced over at Naruto and saw him reading a scroll, seemingly unaware of what was going on around him.

"Naruto…what are you reading?" Naruto looked up and blinked for a moment. Sakura noticed that there was some strange green tinge to his eyes. He blinked again and it was gone, making Sakura wonder. What had just happened to Naruto's eyes? She shook her head and looked back at him.

"Oh, I was reading this scroll on Futon Ninjutsu." He muttered as he went back to reading his scroll. Sakura was starting to become more and more curious. Naruto was ignoring her. That had never happened in the history of the universe. She knew that he had a major crush on her, though she never tried to use that to her advantage. What was the point?

"Futon Ninjutsu?" Sakura questioned as the owner set down their bowls of oden.

"Yeah, I need to learn something to fight Sasuke-teme with…" Naruto said as he rolled his scroll up to eat. Sakura twitched at Sasuke's nickname.

"Don't call Sasuke-kun that!" Naruto rolled his eyes and started eating his oden.

"Why not? He always calls me dobe…" Sakura twitched again. This was starting to get on her nerves.

"So? You were dead last in our class!" Naruto set his chopsticks down in one quick motion and turned to glare at Sakura.

"So, so?! Just because I was back then doesn't mean that I am now Sakura!" Sakura reeled back slightly. Naruto had never spoken to her like that before.

"I'm…" She turned away. "I'm sorry I said that Naruto, but I guess you're right." Naruto's ears perked up at this. Sakura pushed on, avoiding taking notice. "You've gotten a lot better since we left the Academy. I was surprised honestly when you battled Sasuke-kun a few days ago."

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "I, I guess I have been getting a little better."

Sakura laughed and looked at him. "You do know that Futon is weak against Katon, don't you?" She had to avoid laughing again at his expression. It was priceless!

"WHA?!" Naruto shouted while looking at her strangely.

Sakura stated as Naruto gave a particularly dumbfounded look, opening and closing his mouth at random intervals. "Yeah, Suiton is the jutsu type you use when you battle a Katon user."

"But, I can't find any Suiton scrolls! How the hell am I ever going to beat Sasuke with an element weaker than his?" Sakura chuckled at him and shook her head.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I can help you find something with Suiton in it. It shouldn't be that hard." Naruto looked at her skeptically.

"Sakura," She looked at him. "I've memorized the entire contents of the Genin level Jutsu library and there aren't any Suiton scrolls in it." Sakura blinked. Naruto, memorize an entire library of jutsu? That was impossible.

"You, you memorized the entire Jutsu Library?!" Naruto nodded nonchalantly and continued.

"Yeah, it only took me three or so weeks! I want to make Chunin so I can memorize the other parts!" Sakura was shaking her head.

"No way! No one could memorize the entire library!" Naruto nodded impatiently.

"Seriously Sakura-chan, it was easy!" Sakura shook her head.

"I want you to prove that you memorized it!" Naruto raised an eyebrow at her.

"You want me to prove it?" Sakura nodded and stood up.

"Yes! I want to see if you really did." If Naruto memorized the entire Jutsu Library, then…she could maybe. Sakura shook her head. That was a far off dream. To be able to memorize so much at once, it would be a skill any shinobi would die to have.

Sakura grabbed Naruto and began dragging him away. "Come on! We have to test this out!"

The owner came back a few minutes later and saw that his patrons had gone off…without paying. The man ran down the street with a metal spatula and a cleaver in hand, trying to find the fools who had left his shop without paying. "DAMN KIDS!" At that moment, the man made an eternal vow to get revenge! Well, at least until they paid him.

* * *

The library was quiet that afternoon, it was a nice day and most people were spending time outside. The librarian glanced up from her book as Naruto and Sakura entered but kept reading. Naruto saw that she was reading something about Mid-Eastern vampires or something.

She looked at him again and gave a small smile. Naruto gave one of his normally foxy grins back and kept following Sakura.

Sakura had taken down scroll upon scroll to examine. She was bound and determined that Naruto must have a bloodline, or he was extremely smart in order for him to know as much as he did in the short amount of time. She snorted, Naruto being extremely intelligent? Naruto was…kind of a nice Gai, but he wasn't the shiniest shuriken in the kunai pouch.

She took one scroll of Katon jutsu and opened it to the mid section, skimming it over she picked a jutsu and jotted something down on a pad of paper. "Naruto, what are the hand signs for Katon: _Gokakyu_?"

Naruto went through them at a speed that surprised Sakura. He stopped at the last one and recited the words. "Katon: _Gokakyu_." He grinned at Sakura as she looked over the list of signs.

"W-wow…" Sakura muttered to herself as she looked over the list again. Naruto had gotten each of the signs in sequential order, but it was almost like he was sprinting, he had bursts of speed and then he came to a screeching halt as he tried to finish something; just before he went back on speed.

She flipped open another scroll and skimmed it. "What is the element used by the Shodaime Hokage in order to build Konoha?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment before answering. "Mukuton, it's wood."

Sakura went through another scroll. "What was the element the Nidaime was best known for using?"

Naruto chuckled. "Suiton. Water. Duh."

Sakura then began a series of questions on anything that might be in the Jutsu section of the library, or strategy, or anything else she could think of. Naruto answered each of her questions quickly, and without hesitation; at least shinobi related things. History was trouble for him, and he barely knew anything about the history questions. It was sad really; Naruto new all of these techniques and strategies and he knew nothing about the history.

By the time they were done, Sakura was bashing her head against the table. How could Naruto know so much?! He'd gotten practically the worst test grades in the history of the Academy. She looked up and saw him with another scroll that she hadn't seen before. "Naruto, what are you reading now?!" Naruto looked over at Sakura and looked horrified.

"Sakura-chan! You weren't supposed to see this!" He started trying to put it away, but Sakura already had it in her hand and was reading the title.

_Chunin Ninjutsu: Vol. 1_

Sakura dropped the scroll in horror and looked over at Naruto, who was hurriedly trying to put it away. "Why, why the hell do you have that?!" She shouted as he stuck it in his pants pocket.

"I-I," He looked at her pathetically. "You can't tell anyone Sakura-chan!" He was shaking his head frantically. "I kind of…snuck into the Chunin Library and borrowed it," Sakura looked at him dumbfounded. How the heck did he sneak into the Chunin Library?! Wasn't it supposed to be guarded?

"How? How did you sneak in there?" She asked.

"Well, I snuck in last night when the guards were changing shifts. I just made sure no one saw me and I went in to look through some of the scrolls." He looked at her sheepishly. "And since it doesn't take me very long to read through these scrolls, I figured I could just borrow it."

Sakura sighed and went back to her chair. "This can't be happening. I'm with a Genin who stole a Ninjutsu scroll from the Chunin library. This could ruin my reputation!" She pointed at Naruto and a vein bulged on her forehead. "This is entirely your fault!"

Naruto was about to say something when a voice spoke up behind them. "Explain to me _why_ you're shouting in my library?" They turned around to see Satō Miyuki standing behind them, brandishing a ruler in one hand and a large heavy novel in the other

"Well…" Sakura started to say. But before she could finish, Miyuki interrupted them.

"GET OUT!!" She started chasing them out and the pair had no choice but to run away as fast as they possibly could. Naruto and Sakura made a quick turn and lost her behind a set of book shelves. They both took a set of deep breathes but before they could relax, they heard a chuckle as a pair of hands grabbed them by the shoulders. "I've got you now…" Naruto and Sakura both screamed and ran out the doors, leaving Miyuki stuck behind the shelves.

They sprinted out as fast as they could from the Library and finally stopped in front of a fountain in a nearby park. They collapsed on a bench and rested for a few moments.

Naruto was the first one to make any noise. He started off chuckling before he went to a full out laugh. Sakura was soon behind him, laughing as well. They stopped after a few moments and looked at each other. Naruto grinned and shook his head. "That was pretty hilarious…"

Sakura looked at him like he was nuts. "That wasn't hilarious!" She screamed as a vein bulged in her forehead.

Naruto chuckled sheepishly and shook his head. "Sakura-chan, I was kidding! Jeez, you're taking this way too seriously."

The pink haired kunoichi blinked in realization before chuckling. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Naruto grinned at her. "This has been a really cool day Sakura-chan…"

Sakura was about to reply when suddenly a…loud voice blasted near them.

"GAI SENSEI! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH ARE BURNING BRIGHT WITHIN OUR TEAM!" The pair of Genin looked around to see a very…strange group of people. One of them looked slightly normal. A girl with a pink sleeveless shirt and a pair of twin buns in her brown hair, the next was a boy with white eyes and long black hair. The other two, weren't exactly what you called normal.

They looked like they were related. Both had the same green jumpsuits with orange leg warmers, bowl haircuts…and the biggest eyebrows Naruto and Sakura had ever seen.

"YES!" The older one shouted. Sakura assumed that he was a Jonin. He was wearing a vest that looked exactly like the one Kakashi-sensei had. "I MUST COMMEND YOU ALL ON YOUR HARD WORK! YOU CAN GO HOME FOR TODAY!"

The boy with black hair and strange white eyes nodded. "I'm leaving then…" He was a fair distance away before Naruto saw him shake his head and mutter something. Though, they both knew that hanging around with the…odd pair of shinobi would be strange.

Sakura was about to say something to Naruto when she saw that he wasn't sitting next to her anymore. "Naruto!" He was already up with the pair of strange shinobi speaking rapidly.

"You're Might Gai, right?" The green clad Jonin nodded slowly. This was a little, strange. Unorthodox almost, but at least he knew the boy could be confident. Well, that wasn't really important. Wait, what was he saying? THE FLAMES OF YOUTH MUST BURN WITH THE SPARKS OF CONFIDENCE!

"Yes I am…and you must be, Uzumaki Naruto." Gai smiled at Naruto.

Naruto blinked and nodded slowly. "How did you-?" Gai chuckled.

"Your sensei, Kakashi…He and I are, rivals of a sort." Gai's eyes burned with a fiery passion. "Forty-nine wins for me and forty-nine losses for him." He clenched his fists and stared at the sky. "Oh, how I will defeat him one day!" The younger version of him nodded rapidly.

"Yes sensei! I wish that I had an eternal rival like you…" Gai looked over at his apprentice and grabbed his shoulders.

"Lee, the flames of youth will give you a rival soon enough…" Tears began to well up in their eyes.

"Gai-sensei…" The one named Lee said.

"Lee…" Gai responded, his tears welling ever further.

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

The pair began weeping and suddenly a background of a beach with a sunset appeared behind them and an annoyingly bad sax tune began to play. Naruto and Sakura stared at the scene in horror, not able to believe what they were seeing. The girl in the pink shirt stood next to them sighed.

"They always do this, I don't know why, but they do…" She sighed again and shook her head.

Naruto twitched after watching the scene for a moment and clenched his fist. "KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY!"

The pair stopped suddenly and Gai was in front of Naruto in a second. "I'm sorry, I get easily distracted sometimes…it's just that," He turned and smiled at Lee.

"The flames of his youth burn so brightly; it's hard to not appreciate it sometimes!" Lee grinned and nodded.

"Thank you, Gai-sensei!"

Naruto scowled and crossed his arms. "Anyway, I wanted to know if you'd take me on as a student."

Gai blinked. "As a student?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I want to learn Taijutsu from you!"

Gai grinned and struck a strangely triumphant pose. "AT LAST! A student who seeks me out to learn my great skills." He looked at Naruto and nodded slightly. "And, to make it even better; he is a student of KAKASHI! My greatest rival, your student has chosen me over you!" He laughed boisterously before turning back to Naruto.

"I'd like to ask that you took a skill test before I make any decisions!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "A skill test?"

Gai nodded. "Yes, against my wonderful student, Lee!"

Lee grinned and bobbed his head. "Yes! I'll see how brightly the flames of with you Naruto-kun!"

Naruto grinned despite himself. He could take out this clown with a green spandex jumpsuit and orange leg warmers! "Alright! Bring it on Lee!"

* * *

Naruto and Lee were facing off in a small ring of sand that Gai said was part of Training Field 2. Sakura, Gai, and the other girl sat on the sidelines watching. "Go Naruto!" Sakura shouted.

The girl shook her head. "Sorry, this Naruto Gai isn't going to beat Lee."

Sakura looked at the girl with raised eyebrows. "How good is Lee?"

The girl chuckled. "You'll see in a minute…"

Gai faced the two opponents. "Now, this match is to show me everything you know Naruto, so give it your best alright? I'll tell you both when to start."

Naruto nodded and slid into a stance. "Alright! Let's go Lee!"

Lee nodded and stood still. "You bet Naruto-kun!"

Naruto charged forward and made his favorite hand-sign. "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" A clone appeared before him and the pair rushed at Lee, circling around him. The clone rushed first, aiming a punch at Lee. Lee spun and kicked the clone in the chest at a speed that surprised Naruto and Sakura. The clone flew into a tree and popped out of existence.

Naruto grimaced and made the sign again. "If I can't beat you with one, we'll try some more!" Seven clones appeared around Lee and the set charged. Lee began knocking them away one by one, after knocking the last one away he turned to face Naruto.

A shadow clone stood next to Naruto and the two glanced at each other.

"I don't think Bunshin are going to help you in this situation Naruto-kun." Lee chided as he slipped into his Taijutsu stance again.

"Just watch fuzzy brows! I'll show you how much the clones will help me!" Naruto boasted as he formed a seal.

"_Henge!_" The clone became a large shuriken, and Lee blinked when Naruto hurled the large weapon at him.

"Catch that Lee!" Naruto boasted as he watched the weapon fly.

Lee flipped over it to avoid it, but blinked in surprise when a second shuriken came flying towards him. He didn't have time to react when Naruto went where he had just been standing and leapt into the air. "I've got you now!" Lee twisted out of the leaping Naruto's way and kicked him down to the ground.

Naruto landed on his hands and flipped over. "_Futon: Daitoppa_!" He extended his hands and a gale of wind blasted up towards Lee. Lee covered himself with his arms as the blast sent him further into the air. Lee grinned to himself and shook his head.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, that wind wasn't strong enough to blow me off course." Lee chuckled as he continued to fly up towards the blond Genin.

TenTen was impressed. This kid was actually fairing pretty decent against Lee. Though, he lacked the form and speed it would require to beat Lee. She smiled though, his techniques were certainly interesting.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, you can't get rid of me that easily!" Lee aimed his own body towards the ground and started spinning. Naruto blinked when he saw this and tried to avoid him but found he couldn't. Lee had already landed on top of him. Naruto blinked and saw that Lee was standing over him with a triumphant look on his face.

Sakura was getting worried. Even with that Futon technique, Lee hadn't been scratched at all during this match. He almost seemed to have more energy than her teammate. Naruto was strong, not as strong as Sasuke-kun; but strong. So, this kid was even stronger than her teammates!

Naruto's head was reeling. How was Lee this fast? It seemed impossible, Lee was just another Genin but he was almost as fast as Sasuke-teme. That was really surprising, at least in Naruto's perspective. He snickered to himself. Watching Sasuke-teme fight Lee would be interesting. He was snapped out of his revere when Gai-sensei came to help him up. "I must say Naruto. I'm impressed by your progress. Your strategy is interesting and you use quite a few interesting jutsu.

It is through this that I've decided to take you on as a student." Naruto smiled brightly at his new teacher. "Though, you will have to work a great deal harder than you might think you'll have to."

Naruto nodded rapidly. "I swear I'll work hard for you Gai-sensei! Ossu!" He saluted his teacher.

Gai laughed. "Good, I'll see you tomorrow morning then. I need you to be fresh when you get here, so try to delay a little." Gai winked at Naruto. "I know my eternal rival is never on time, so just come and work with me."

Naruto laughed and started hopping up and down. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Gai chuckled. "As a reward, let's all head over to a restaurant. My treat!" He exclaimed as Lee bounded up to stand next to his sensei.

"Hai Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted pumping his fist up at the idea. "Let's go TenTen, Naruto-kun, my dear Sakura-chan!" Sakura twitched when Lee said her name like that.

"Naruto, don't let me get stuck next to him!" Sakura hissed as the small group of people walked towards the place Gai was taking them. Naruto nodded and kept walking, keeping Sakura a good few feet behind him.

"That was a pretty good match you had." The girl who had been sitting with Sakura came up to Naruto and started keeping pace with him.

"Uh…thanks! Uh, what's your name?" Naruto asked, not knowing whether he knew this girl or not.

"TenTen." The girl said, laughing as she did.

"And you must be the infamous Uzumaki Naruto." She said with a chuckle.

Naruto blinked at this. It didn't seem like she was trying to hide anything. So what was up with this?

"Uh, yeah! I guess I am!" Naruto stammered out as he looked at TenTen. He noticed that she had strange sweet smell to her. It was, very aromatic; almost flowery.

Sakura was watching this and was avoiding trying to giggle. Naruto had a crush on someone. And this girl was a year older than he was. She was really trying to avoid getting into anything here. If Naruto had a crush on someone besides her, well than let him have at it! Anything to get him off her back and leave her to her devices and to Sasuke-kun!

* * *

_**Wow, I haven't updated in forever and now you get one of my longest chapters ever! Tres shocking, I know.**_

_**Well, I'll try and have the next one up before um…June? Can't guarantee anything other than that.**_

_**Thanks a million! Please leave any questions or comments in a review please and thanks!**_

_**Yours,**_

_**Isran Darkstrider**_


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